Puttin’ on the RITz heads to Croatia

The Puttin’ on the RITz gala dinner and fundraiser had a new home this year—Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is part of RIT Croatia’s 20th anniversary and alumni weekend.

The annual dinner, held April 7, was one of the events held to highlight RIT Croatia’s 20th anniversary celebration and alumni weekend. Students from RIT’s Henrietta campus and RIT Croatia worked together to execute this event for first time in its 31-year history not on Rochester soil.

RIT Croatia alumnus, Marko Sekulić ’04 was the event’s honorary chair and served as host. The director of business development of Hilton Molino Stucky Venice, Sekulić has worked at Hilton Worldwide for the last five years, as part of the preopening team for the Double Tree by Hilton Zagreb, managing cluster sales of both Hilton properties in Croatia, including the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik.

Sekulić said he was very excited about event.

“What a fantastic initiative, bringing the RITz event to Dubrovnik, Croatia. It has already been 20 years since RIT Croatia (well, I knew it as the American College of Management and Technology) first opened its doors to students and led them on their journey of knowledge. Can there be a better occasion for alumni to get together and celebrate, meet old friends, and catch up?” Sekulić said.

RIT originally partnered with a college in Croatia in 1997 as it was then called The American College of Management and Technology (ACMT). In 2013, ACMT changed its name to RIT Croatia and continues to thrive. President and dean of RIT Croatia, Don Hudspeth has high hopes for the university for the upcoming years.

“RIT Croatia will be positioned as the leading campus in Europe,” said Hudspeth.

RIT Croatia attracts students from many countries and is presently one of the top U.S. universities on the continent. RIT Croatia has graduated more than 1,800 alumni.

The students working on the RITz dinner wanted to celebrate the great history of this school, as well as all of the successful alumni.